


Acquainted

by Laydee_Liesmith



Series: Songs in the Key of Thorki [2]
Category: Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Brief Instance of Attempted Assault, Cute Banter, Football Player!Thor, Grinding in the Club, Loki wants none of what Thor's offering, Loki's wound very tight, M/M, Opposites attract?, Thor wants to unwind him, Underage Drinking, Until he kind of does, bartender!Loki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-23 03:56:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11394861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laydee_Liesmith/pseuds/Laydee_Liesmith
Summary: Loki Laufeyson is a bartender with a problem.  That problem is named Thor Odinson, the University's golden boy who has become a regular (and somewhat of a nuisance) at Loki's bar.  Night after night, Thor gets drunk and shamelessly flirts with Loki, making his "interest" abundantly clear.  Loki knows Thor's type--he's the type who'd hump anything with a pulse--so Loki pays him little mind.  As long as Thor keeps spending money at the bar, Loki's happy to roll his eyes and ignore the teasings of an intoxicated party boy.  Then one night, Thor makes it obvious that he's more than just teasing.  That he's seriously got his eyes set on Loki.  And Loki?  Loki knows that Thor's no good.  So why does he have such a hard time convincing himself of that?





	Acquainted

A/N: It’s been a _super_ long time since I last updated something, so, here, have some College!Thorki! When I first thought of this fic, I imagined it from Thor’s POV, and saw the plot progressing very differently. But then Loki up and took over, and I kind of just let him do his thing.  No real smut again this time (haha, I wonder what is happening to me? ;p).  Hope you enjoy it! Also, shout out to [SatansSin](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SatansSin) for giving this a read through and walking me off a ledge, haha. xoxo

* * *

_Baby you're no good_

_Cause they warned me ‘bout your type_

_I've been ducking left and right_

_Baby you're no good_

_Think I fell for you, I fell for you, I fell for you..._

-The Weeknd

* * *

Listening to the pulsing beats as they pounded through the little underground club—a favorite haunt of many of the students  from the local university—Loki watched from behind the bar as Thor Odinson, the school’s well-known beefy blond defensive tackle, danced with surprisingly fluid motions.  Well, if you could call grinding on one girl while another girl molded her body to yours from behind “dancing,” Loki thought with an eye roll as he continued to wipe down the glasses with practiced precision.

 

“Thor Odinson” wasn’t the kind of person Loki would ever have paid attention to.  But the blond made it almost impossible to ignore him.  It seemed Thor had a bit of a… _crush_ on him. 

 

Just thinking about it made Loki sneer.  Notwithstanding the fact that Loki had never expressed having any interest in other guys (which Thor didn’t quite seem to care about), Loki would never have taken someone like Thor seriously.  The guy was an unrepentant flirt and, from what Loki could see, a bit of a slut.  And apparently he really got off on the chase, as the more Loki said no, and verbally abused the older boy, the more resolved in his pursuit Thor seemed to become.

 

It was childish.  That was the best way Loki could sum it up. 

 

Thor had waltzed into the bar Loki worked at part-time almost three months ago.  It only took one night (and about 5 drinks, as Loki recalled), for Thor to declare that Loki was his “favorite.”  After that, Thor had become a regular at the bar, coming every weekend and pointedly during _Loki’s_ shifts.  Thor had made it clear on that first night that he thought Loki was “gorgeous” and hadn’t made it very difficult to figure out, through his innuendos and heated looks, that he wanted to hook-up. 

 

When the cocksure athlete had first hit on him, Loki had gaped at him like a fish.  It wasn’t the fact that he had been _hit on_ ; Loki had, on more than one occasion, been told he was “pretty” and had been hit on by guys before.  What surprised him was that _Thor_ , who he would have considered the epitome of “hetero” seemed to be indiscriminate when it came to his conquests—he flirted heavily with women, but his eyes often hungrily followed men too.  But Loki wasn’t quite sure how much credence he could give to any of Thor’s advances since Thor seemed _more_ courageous in his flirtations with Loki (and other boys) only after he had had a couple of drinks in him.  Much to Loki’s chagrin. 

 

Every night that Thor graced the bar with his presence progressed like clockwork.  He would arrive around 9:30 or 10:00, come straight to the bar, order one of the beers on tap and flirt with Loki for about a half an hour.  Asking him inane questions like “when am I going to get those digits?” or “Don’t you ever wonder how good you’d look spread out on my sheets?” Loki still had to practice a modicum of customer service and, depending on his mood, he would often put up with Thor’s cringe-worthy come-ons.

 

Then the club would start to fill up; the music would get a little headier, the strobe lights would pulse a bit quicker, and the bodies on the floor would start to gyrate.  Thor loved dancing almost as much as he liked drinking.  He would ask Loki every time to be his partner and Loki would flatly reject him.  The responses ranged from “I’m on the clock,” to “I don’t dance,” to “I’d never dance with _you_.”  And still Thor persisted.  And every time Loki would say no.  The pout Thor gave him never ceased to make Loki feel a little guilty thugh.  Which confused him.

 

Loki was similarly confused by the fact that, without fail, he spent most of his night _watching_ Thor as the burly athlete moved; body glistening with sweat and long blond hair working its way free from his ponytail.  Thor danced with abandon.  And on top of that, Thor danced like how Loki imagined the man probably _fucked_.  He grinned lasciviously as his large hands traveled possessively across the body of whoever he was dancing with that night, holding them tight. And his partners definitely didn’t seem to mind.  Almost every one of them left with Thor at the end of the night. 

 

Loki didn’t understand _what_ Thor wanted with him in the first place.  They were complete opposites.  It was almost laughable how much they _didn’t_ have in common.  They were both total stereotypes.  Loki was the silent, brooding type.  He knew he’d be considered a hipster, with the requisite skinny jeans, interesting t-shirts, and sneakers.  His hair was long (a little longer than Thor’s actually), but while the blond’s screamed “sun-kissed surfer,” Loki’s style was more the “tortured artist.”  And while Loki wasn’t _such_ a stereotype to be majoring in the creative arts (he was a Linguistics and Anthropology double-major, thank you very much), he _was_ minoring in creative writing.  But Loki liked to think he was a bit of a rebel with his pierced eyebrow and habit of wearing black nail polish when the mood struck him. 

 

Thor, on the other hand… Well, he was as all-American as you could get.  Loki didn’t know much about the blond other than the fact that he was about 3 years older (Loki had learned he was on a football scholarship which required him to play for the school for 5 years so he was considered a “Super Senior”), and he was apparently bisexual.  Loki never crossed paths with Thor at school and wasn’t even sure the older boy _knew_ they went to the same college. But that was mostly Loki’s own doing. Thor had grilled him about himself and Loki had, purposefully, kept his lips sealed.  The only reason Thor even knew his _first_ name was because Loki figured it’d be pretty bad customer service to deny him that.  But Loki also didn’t want to appear to be interested in Thor. So he never asked what the blond was majoring in, or what activities (outside of football) he pursued. He didn’t want to give Thor any reason to think he had a “chance.”   

 

But that wasn’t to say anything was _wrong_ with Thor.  Thor was handsome.  That was undeniable.  He was huge; his presence intimidating but also captivating at the same time.  He was probably 6’3” or 6’4”, which floored Loki because, even at an impressively tall 6’1” himself, Loki felt tiny when the man was leaning over him at the bar. It must be all that muscle, Loki figured.  The guy looked like he had a good 50lbs on him.  If Thor didn’t have such a 1000-watt smile and kind, baby blue eyes, Loki was sure he would probably be feared, as opposed to revered, among his classmates. But, really, he was harmless.  Often, Loki thought of Thor as some kind of large dog—probably something akin to a Golden Retriever or a Labrador.       

 

In other words, annoying when overly excited and quite big, but otherwise gentle.

 

Loki just wished Thor hadn’t set his sights on _him_.  He wished he didn’t have to feel a sense of hyperawareness every time Thor walked through the doors during one of Loki’s shifts.  He wished Thor hadn’t forced himself into Loki’s orbit.  

 

But Loki couldn’t watch Thor _all_ night, and as the club started to fill it increased the traffic at the bar and Loki found himself quickly distracted.  He didn’t work at the bar because he particularly liked it.  He spent all night shouting over music—and being shouted _at—_ and struggling to try to find things in the darkened interior of the club.  But he also knew that he was _good_ at his job, fitting in with the bar’s alternative feel.  And most importantly?  It was _easy._ Loki got good tips, and it wasn’t lost on him that the more he flirted with his customers, the better tips he made.

 

Like right now. 

 

The guy who had ordered a gin and tonic had been eye-banging him the whole time they had been talking.  And he had purposefully made Loki lean in close so he could hear his order better and the guy had even had the audacity to tuck Loki’s hair behind one of his ears.  He was most decidedly _handsy,_ but, for Loki, as long as the man kept his hands on _his_ side of the bar, it wasn’t really worth fighting about.  Loki sighed as he dropped a wedge of lime into the clear drink.  Turning around, he caught his patron’s eye again and forced his smile back on to his lips.

 

“Here you go, one gin and tonic, on the rocks,” Loki said as he placed down a small napkin on the bar before setting the clear tumbler down on top of it.

 

“Perfect,” the guy said, grinning back at Loki.

 

He then held up a folded bill, and Loki could immediately see that it was a $10.

 

“Keep the change,” the guy said, as he winked at Loki. 

 

The drink had only cost $5, so that was one definitely a nice tip.  But Loki knew he’d probably have to _work_ to get that tip.  He forced a prettier smile on to his face, and lowered his eyelids, even throwing in a little giggle, as he reached out to take the bill, and wasn’t surprised at all when the man’s fingers slid suggestively over the inside of his wrist.  It looked like he was going to reach out to touch Loki’s hair again when the loud sound of someone slamming a heavy beer mug down on the bar startled them both.

 

Looking to his left, Loki could see Thor standing about a foot away from his flirty customer, handle of the beer mug gripped tightly in his fist as he pretended to be disinterested in what was going on between the two of them.

 

“Hey, bartender, could I get a refill on this,” Thor called out.

 

Loki gingerly plucked the $10 bill from the fingers of his now distracted customer and said a quick “thanks” before making a show of walking over to Thor. 

 

“Yeah, what’d you have?” Loki asked, even though he knew exactly what Thor had been drinking all night long.  He was the only bartender Thor ever came to. 

 

Knowing that he had been dismissed, the customer let out a loud sigh as he collected his drink and pushed away from the bar.    

 

Loki grabbed the mug and began re-filling it, and wondered to himself why Thor was particularly silent at that moment.  But even though Thor wasn’t saying anything, Loki could feel the heavy weight of his eyes on him.  He finally looked up as he placed the full mug on the bar.

 

“You just let that guy touch you like that?” Thor asked, the usual playful smile missing from his face.

 

Loki’s eyebrow rose with curiosity as he stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest.  This was new.

 

“It wasn’t anything to get worried about.  Customers like to flirt,” Loki said simply.  “You should know that better than anyone else.”

 

Thor’s eyes narrowed.

 

“Oh, yeah?  If I tried to touch you like that, you’d probably claw my eyes out,” he accused.

 

Loki laughed.  What was this?  Was Thor _jealous_?  Were his feelings hurt?  The man at the bar’s flirting was harmless.  He didn’t actually want anything _real_ from Loki, and, deep down, they both knew that it wasn’t going to go anywhere.   Thor, on the other hand… Well, Thor’s persistence—on top of the fact that they knew each other pretty well by this point—made Loki far less willing to entertain Thor’s advances.  Because Loki wasn’t really quite sure whether Thor was serious or not.  And the thought of it always made his heart pound in his chest and his mouth suddenly go dry. 

 

Whenever Thor trained those blue eyes on him, Loki became hyper aware of himself. Like he was the only thing in the room.  Or at least the only thing capable of holding Thor’s attention.  And he didn’t like the way that made him feel.  Because if Thor _wasn’t_ serious…?  Loki would just end up being made to look like a fool.  And he wasn’t going to take that risk.   So, clawing his eyes out?  Yeah.  That sounded like something Loki might do. 

 

“You’re probably right about that,” Loki said.  “Now, here’s your drink.  I’ve got a job to do.”

 

And with that, Loki turned toward a group of girls he could see waving at him at the other end of the bar.  When he looked up again, Thor was no longer standing at the bar.

* * *

The night progressed, with more tips and more flirty customers.  They were having 2 for 1 shot deals that night, and Loki could tell that the clientele was getting pretty wasted.  Not exactly his favorite kind of night.  But as long as the tips didn’t stop coming and no one got fall down drunk, Loki was content.

 

And that left him thinking about Thor.  Who was most decidedly getting pretty close to drunk, if he wasn’t already.  Even though Loki had been able to see Thor dancing with a number of different girls throughout the night, he also often found Thor’s eyes on _him_ when he looked up from his work _._ No matter where Thor was in the club, it seemed he had a clear sightline to Loki. 

 

Thor’s mood had increasingly soured after their earlier conversation and, while he returned to the bar and still only ordered from Loki, he didn’t say very much to Loki except for his drink order.  He had moved from beer to whisky about halfway through the night.  After having served him his 4th shot of whisky (following the 3 beers from earlier), Loki was considering cutting him off.  Thor didn’t _look_ particularly unstable on his feet, but some people could be totally drunk and still carry themselves pretty well.  Loki had worked this job long enough to know that far too well. 

 

Loki definitely wasn’t used to seeing Thor drink _that_ much though, and he was wondering if it was his duty to stop Thor for Thor’s own sake.  Sighing, Loki decided he’d decide what to do with Thor _after_ he took out the trash.  He only had about an hour left on his shift and having to have a battle with someone who was drunk was pretty low on the list of the things he wanted to do that night. 

 

“Hey, I’m taking the trash out,” Loki called to the other bartender.  She nodded at him without looking up from the drink she was making.  They were really just _that_ busy. 

 

Dragging the overflowing bag to the backdoor and out into the alley, Loki took in a big lungful of the crisp autumn air.  The inside of the club was like a sauna.  It was a tiny place that was meant to comfortably fit a max of 100 people, but was usually filled to the brim with closer to 150 or 175.  Loki was sure they were violating numerous fire codes.  But the managers never really seemed to care.  It was a college bar and so they couldn’t charge competitively high prices for their drinks.  Management seemed to think that as long as they had a lot of customers, their profit would be higher. 

 

It usually left Loki with his hair sticking to his face and his clothes plastered to his skin.  Huffing indignantly, Loki pulled at the damp fabric of his t-shirt to try to let some of the cool air hit his feverish skin.  He was startled when he heard the sound of the heavy fire door slamming open behind him.  No one else but staff ever usually came this way, and he knew it wasn’t likely anyone else in the bar could afford to take a break right now.  Spinning around, Loki’s eyes fell on Thor, the tall blond standing between him and the door, his golden tresses similarly dampened with sweat. 

 

“Thor?!” Loki asked, surprised. 

 

He suddenly wondered if Thor was really more drunk than he thought and had come out into the back alley to puke.  He sneered at the thought.  He hated watching other people get sick. Ugh.  And it wasn’t like they could just leave it there if Thor did get sick.  Someone would have to come and hose it down, and that _someone_ would likely be Loki. 

 

“You okay?” Loki asked tentatively, worried that he would have to support Thor if the bulky blond decided to take a nosedive.   

 

But then Thor was walking toward him, steps lumbering a bit but gait still relatively controlled.

 

Loki watched him stupidly, nothing in his brain signaling him there was anything to be worried about.  So when Thor grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him up against the brick wall—hard enough to knock a surprised gasp out of him, but not hard enough to hurt—Loki wasn’t prepared.

 

“Thor?!” Loki shouted, but was cut off by Thor’s angry voice speaking over him.    

 

“What the shit, Loki!” Thor barked at him.  “I’m tired of you teasing me all the time.  So, what do you want?  What do I have to _do_ to get you?”

 

Loki stared at him with wide eyes, speechless.  He couldn’t process what was going on.  Couldn’t make sense of what Thor was saying.  All he was sure of was that Thor was breathing heavily, his blue eyes a shocking shade that Loki had never noticed before in the dim lighting of the club.  It was almost mesmerizing. 

 

Then Thor’s grip was tightening on Loki’s shoulders, but instead of pushing Loki more firmly against the wall, Thor was pulling Loki toward him.   All Loki had time to do was let out a small squeak of surprise, before Thor was pressing his lips against his, kissing him hard.  A muffled sound—Loki couldn’t be sure if it was one of indignation or pleasure—escaped Loki’s lips.  His brain was short-circuiting.

 

Thor was _kissing_ him.  The lips on his—the _tongue_ pushing into his mouth—belonged to _Thor._ Something Loki would have bet money would never happen.  But here he was, pressed up against a brick wall by the impossible bulk of Thor Odinson, and, for some reason, he was letting it _happen._

 

Loki jumped when he felt a heavy hand palm at his crotch, the pressure delicious and electrifying, and he couldn’t help but roll his hips up into the touch.   Loki knew it wasn’t smart to let this go any further—that nothing good could come of this.  But Thor’s kisses were stealing his breath away; making him dizzy.   And the feel of Thor’s large, warm palm—hot even through the fabric of his denim jeans—made Loki forget for a second why he had said no so much in the first place.

 

But then the sound of a door slamming somewhere further down in the alleyway broke into Loki’s thoughts, shattering the haze, and he remembered himself.  Where he was.  Who he was.  And why he _shouldn’t_ be doing this.  And he pushed Thor away. 

 

Panting, Loki wiped at his mouth as he watched Thor carefully, feeling as if Thor was some kind of animal poised to pounce.   Thor’s mouth had been hot and wet—delicious, really—but it had also been laced with whisky.  Loki could taste it, even now.  And even though Thor was looking at him predatorily, his blue eyes blown almost black by his dilated pupils, Loki just couldn’t see the point in taking him seriously. 

 

Thor was drunk.  Thor was never serious.  And there was no point in wondering about it if Thor wasn’t sober. 

 

“Cut it out, you idiot,” Loki hissed, impressed with himself when his voice didn’t wobble.  It sure felt like his _knees_ were wobbling.

 

Thor took a deep breath and straightened up, smoothing down his shirt and running his hand through his hair.

 

“Why?” Thor asked, simply, still looking at Loki like he wanted to eat him.

 

“Because you’re _drunk_ , and I have enough sense to stop you before you do something we’ll both regret,” Loki spat, side-stepping him, intent on getting back inside the bar.  Where the lights were low.  And Thor wouldn’t be able to see his red face and wide eyes. 

 

But then Thor reached out, hand closing around Loki’s wrist, stopping him in place. 

 

“Why do you think you’d regret it?  You obviously liked what we did just now,” Thor said, voice heavy with promise.  “I can do all that to you again, and more.” 

 

Loki scoffed, trying to tug his hand away.  He wasn’t going to get into an argument with a drunk, over-confident dude-bro.  If Thor didn’t let go soon, Loki wasn’t above scratching his way out of this.  

 

Loki looked pointedly down at Thor’s grip on his wrist and Thor released him, without any need for more resistance from Loki.  He stepped back, hands raised in a gesture of no harm. 

 

“Trust me,” Thor insisted.  “One night with me and I promise to blow your mind.  You won’t be able to keep away.” 

 

“Well, perhaps it’s better that I don’t get a taste of it at all then, huh?” Loki said snippily as he pushed past Thor and grabbed for the door.

 

He made sure not to turn around and look back, as the heavy door slammed behind him.   

* * *

To Loki’s relief, Thor hadn’t shown his face in the bar again, following their unexpected make out session, and Loki was able to pass the rest of that night, and the week following, without having to think much about Thor.  But it was Saturday again, and Loki couldn’t help it as his eyes kept drifting toward the doors at the far end of the bar as he began his shift, wondering when—or _if_ —Thor would show his face that night.

 

It was a little after 11, far later than usual, when Thor finally walked into the bar.  Loki tried to ignore the way his heart jumped in his throat a little as he saw Thor’s impressive form fill the doorway.  Gulping to himself, Loki turned away and went back to paying attention to the gaggle of girls who had been hounding him at the bar for the last two hours.  He didn’t quite mind them—they were funny and interesting to talk to—but they had been trying to get him to drink with them all night, his protests that he _couldn’t_ drink while on the job falling on deaf ears. 

 

But Loki wasn’t in the mood to put up a fight anymore.  He had been on edge all night, and couldn’t really understand why.  And the fact that Thor had walked in—and had completely avoided coming to the bar, a fact that hadn’t been lost on Loki—didn’t help to make Loki any less edgy. 

 

“Come _on_ , are you sure you can’t take just _one_ shot?” the blonde—he thought her name might have been Amora—whined as she blinked up at him with pleading green eyes.

 

Her two other friends looked at him expectantly, similar excited smiles on their faces.

 

And all Loki could think was _fuck it_.  He only had about half an hour left on his shift.  Who would know the difference? 

 

He grinned back as he set up two lines of shots—four shot glasses in each line—and began to pour the bar’s top shelf tequila.

 

“Alright, it’s on me.  But we gotta make sure my boss never finds out,” he said conspiratorially as he winked at them.

 

The three girls let out squeals of excitement. 

 

All four of them licked then salted the backs of their hands, before licking it off and knocking back the first shot in the line.  Loki winced as the liquor hit the back of his throat, then chased it with one of the lime wedges he had set out on the bar. 

 

“Another!” Amora yelled as she high-fived him.

 

Loki shook his head but couldn’t help grinning as the four of them repeated the process.

 

The next fifteen minutes were a blur for Loki, the girls each buying a round of shots, and egging Loki on as he continued to knock them back.  Next thing he knew, he was being dragged on to the dancefloor by the three girls, throwing a weak apology over his shoulder to the other bartender as he pulled his apron off with clumsy hands.  His shift really _was_ almost over, after all, and he was about six shots in, practically useless to anyone anyway. 

 

Loki’s feet stumbled as he followed behind the girls, but he didn’t care.  He was drunk enough that he didn’t feel embarrassed as he threw his hands up in the air and danced along to the music, surrounded by the three girls. Loki generally liked to be in control.  Acting “wild and crazy” were things he adamantly avoided.  But tonight?  Wild and crazy was exactly what he wanted.

 

As the deep bass beats of the song reverberated through the club—vibrations moving through the floor and up through Loki’s body—Loki leaned in to it, grinning along as the three girls pressed their bodies against his, all of them moving together in a fluid rhythm.  Loki didn’t have to think, he just had to feel.  It was _fun_.

 

When a song with pulsing sensual beats came on, Loki couldn’t help feeling sexy.  His hands ran over his body as he closed his eyes, long dark hair flowing behind him, body undulating, and heart thumping in his chest. He lost himself to the music and when strong hands gripped his hips from behind, it startled him and he jumped in surprise. His eyes flew open and he turned around to see _Thor_ behind him, eyes dark with intent.  Loki’s heart leapt into his throat again. 

 

Thor was there. 

 

Thor was _touching_ him, and Loki couldn’t deny that he liked the heavy feel of Thor’s hands on his hips better than he had liked the gentler feel of the girls’ hands. 

 

And thinking of that reminded Loki that he had just been dancing with the girls in question, but he had all but forgotten about them when his eyes had locked on Thor’s.  He turned back to face forward and could see Amora and the other girls slipping away from them, surprised yet approving looks on their faces, one of them even winking, and Loki looked away, suddenly ashamed of himself for not having put up some kind of fight when Thor had descended upon him. 

 

As if wanting to remind him he was there, Thor’s hands tightened their grip on his hips and Loki found himself being pulled backward, Thor’s body pressing up against his, as he ground into Loki’s ass.  Loki jumped as what felt like the hard ridge of a _cock_ pressed up against his ass.   

 

“ _Thor_ ,” he hissed, trying to turn again, but pressed this close to Thor, his range of movement was limited. 

 

“Shh,” Thor whispered into his ear, the hot breathy sensation causing Loki to shudder.  “You looked so sexy dancing out there with them.  Like you were trying to tease everyone around you.  _Tempt_ us _._   How could I pass that up?”

 

Loki feebly attempted to resist, as Thor began to move their bodies to the beat of the music.  But as Thor’s hands gripped him tighter and the warmth of Thor’s chest seeped into Loki’s back, he began to realize he _liked_ the hard feeling of Thor’s muscular chest behind him, body bigger than his and covering him from head to toe.  He liked the tingling sensation of Thor’s hot breath on his ear and neck. 

 

Gulping as he leaned back into the sensation, allowing Thor to control the movements of his body, Loki told himself it was only the liquor that was causing this.  Causing him to relax into Thor’s grip and allow the man to practically simulate fucking as he pressed himself up against Loki’s ass, cock becoming noticeably harder as the song progressed. 

 

And it was like Loki’s acquiescence unleased something in Thor, whose hands became bolder, running up the expanse of Loki’s stomach, across his chest and nipples, sending electric-like sensations pulsing through Loki’s body.  Loki closed his eyes and bit his lip as he let his head loll on to Thor’s shoulder, embarrassed to acknowledge to himself that he was getting turned on.  Embarrassed that he wanted to know what Thor’s hands would feel like _without_ the fabric of Loki’s top and tight jeans separating them.   

 

When Loki felt Thor’s mouth descend on his neck he let out an actual moan that he hoped would go unnoticed over the loud sound of the music.  But when Thor gave an extra enthusiastic thrust behind him, Loki knew he had heard him.  Loki turned his face away, ashamed but still unable to do anything about the way his body was _feeling_.  Why did it feel so good?  Loki had never wanted something like this before.  At least…he never thought he did. 

 

But now, with the warmth of the liquor pulsing through his veins, and the even warmer feeling of Thor’s hot body overwhelming his senses, it was _all_ he really wanted. 

 

Biting his lip, Loki tentatively pushed back against the hardness that Thor definitely wasn’t ashamed of, as he responded to Loki’s seeking thrust with one of his own.  Loki gasped as he felt the thick length press up in between his cleft, and he shuddered.  He didn’t know if he wanted to push back against it again, or run away.  But it was like Thor had sensed it, and had decided that he wasn’t going to give Loki an out, as one heavy hand came down to slide around Loki’s hip and rest possessively on the front of Loki’s jeans, while the other wrapped itself around Loki’s chest, thumb sensually stroking his collarbone. 

 

Loki whimpered.  Actually _whimpered_ when Thor’s big hand touched him in the one place he hadn’t known he needed it.  Loki was hard, embarrassingly so.  And the heat and pressure of Thor’s hand was like an electric current running through him.  Loki was half afraid he’d come right there.  The feel of Thor’s mouth on his neck, body pressed so tight to him, hands _touching_ him, was so overwhelming. 

  

But Thor didn’t move his hand, he just held Loki, like he was keeping him grounded.  He rocked his body to the music, leading Loki, and Loki gave in and let himself be led.  It was almost like the sound of the music had been drowned out, and all Loki was aware of was the thudding of his heart and the sound of Thor’s breath in his ear.

 

“Yes, just like that,” Thor praised, as he guided Loki’s hips, rolling them sensually.

 

And Loki moaned again, hands scrambling up to rest on top of Thor’s, anything to keep him from just floating away.  And when Thor’s mouth began to move, taking a tantalizing path along Loki’s neck to his jaw, Loki found himself strongly considering turning his face, just so, so that he could meet Thor’s lips. 

 

But then Loki was jolted out of his haze when the song finally came to an end, a poppy club song filling its place, and it was like the spell had been shattered.  Dizzily, Loki pushed away from Thor—from the warmth and the madness.  He pushed through the crowd of people jumping and fist-pumping to the current song, trying to make his way to the front door. 

 

He was sure Thor was calling out behind him, asking him to stop, but Loki just needed to get out.  He needed air.  He needed _clarity._ Whatever had just happened—what Loki had _let_ happen—was just not _him._ Thor was making him go insane. 

 

When Loki finally made it to the door, he stumbled outside, the cool air welcome on his flushed skin and helping to clear his head. 

 

What had he been _thinking_?  Thor was the last person he should ever have allowed to do that to him. What would Thor think now?  That Loki was interested?  Loki was decidedly _not_ interested in being another notch on Thor’s bedpost.  He wasn’t interested in whatever Thor probably called a usual Saturday night.  Just the thought of it made Loki’s stomach turn.  (It was either that or the tequila.) 

 

Loki looked around frantically, hoping a cab would be passing by, or at least a bus would be rounding the corner, but the street was practically deserted.  When he heard the sound of the bar opening behind him—the loud music spilling out into the quiet for a few seconds before it was muffled again by the door closing—Loki let out a curse.

 

“What’s going on?” Thor shouted behind him.  “Why’d you just leave like that?”

 

Loki whipped around and glared at him.

 

“I’m drunk, okay.  Don’t act like you can’t tell.  So let’s just chalk that—whatever _that_ was just now—up to the bad decisions we all make when we’ve had a little bit too much to drink,” Loki said, voice slurring as if in an attempt to back up his protest.

 

Thor frowned.

 

“Come _on_ , Loki. It’s not just because you’re drunk.  Don’t feed me that bullshit,” Thor said, although he didn’t sound angry.

 

But Loki just ignored him, turning his back on him as he took his phone out and tried to order a car to pick him up, fingers clumsy over the screen. 

 

“Are you just going to ignore me?” Thor asked again.

 

“Isn’t that obvious?” Loki called over his shoulder, relieved when his screen told him a car was less than five minutes away.  “I don’t want to deal with this right now.  I just want to go home and try to sleep off the hangover I more than deserve for the stupid shit I did tonight.”

 

“Come on,” Thor said again, this time stepping in front of Loki and forcing him to look at him. “You’re drunk, okay. I get that.  But that doesn’t mean we have to ignore what happened tonight.  Can I at least have your number?”

 

Loki couldn’t help the scoff that came out.

 

“Are you _insane_?  No freaking way,” he said as he tucked his phone into his back pocket, suddenly paranoid that Thor would take it from him in an attempt to get his number.

 

“Why?” Thor asked, sounding about as petulant as a child who had been denied ice cream.

 

Loki blinked in surprise.  Was Thor serious?  Loki knew that he, personally, was drunk, but was Thor also?  Could he really be that dense? 

 

“ _Why_?  Because when you do stupid stuff when you’re drunk you’re _supposed_ to pretend like it didn’t happen.  Why do you keep trying to act like this—whatever it is you think you want from me—is real once we walk outside of that bar,” Loki spat.

 

Thor frowned again, looking as if his feelings had been hurt.  Loki couldn’t make sense of it. 

 

“You make it seem like I only want you when I’m in this club, but I want to take you home with me,” Thor said.

 

Loki made a face of disgust.   _Of course_ Thor wanted to take him home with him, Loki’d have to be pretty dense to not have picked up on that, what with Thor humping him only a few minutes ago.  

 

“And not just _that_ ,” Thor continued, face growing slightly pink.  “I want to see you in the daylight.  At school.  Or for lunch. I want to know more about you, Loki.”

 

Loki raised an eyebrow in confusion.  He just couldn’t understand what Thor was saying, or why, but, he also didn’t know why Thor was trying to have any kind of serious conversation with him when he had had _six_ shots.  Loki just couldn’t deal with this right now.

 

But then a car pulled up to the curb—a blue Toyota Camry, like his app had told him it would be—and he felt a sense of relief.  Here was his escape.

 

“That’s my ride,” Loki said as he side-stepped Thor. “Trust me, once morning comes you’ll definitely realize that this was a bad idea.  I know I will.”

 

Loki turned his back, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t noticed Thor’s disappointed expression.  But he didn’t care.  It was for the best.  Thor really _did_ only want one thing from him. And Loki wasn’t willing to be someone’s one night stand.  A _conquest_.  No way. 

 

As Loki climbed into the car and the driver pulled away, he couldn’t help but glance behind him. Thor was still standing on the curb, looking after him, that dejected look still on his face.    

* * *

Loki had been rewarded with one hell of a hangover the morning after his night with Thor in the bar.  But he wasn’t lucky enough to forget anything that had happened the night before.  Loki was more than a little embarrassed with himself.  But he figured he’d chalk it up to being young and stupid in college. 

 

His coworker had chewed him out—via text—for skipping out early, since Loki had abandoned the duties he needed to do before leaving, like taking out the trash and restocking the glasses.  But Loki couldn’t be bothered.  He was going to take off a week from the bar anyway, since midterms were coming up and he needed to study.  He told himself that that was the reason; not that he just wanted to avoid Thor. 

 

So Loki went from his grungy dive-bar persona—ripped skinny jeans, and band t-shirts and all—to the persona he preferred.  The _studious_ type.  Loki had always been good at school.  Unfortunately, he hadn’t also been born with a silver spoon in his mouth.  And while his grades had been good enough to get him a pretty impressive scholarship, he still needed money for his apartment, and books, and _food_.  So he worked a ton of odd jobs.  The bar, while sometimes skeevy, paid well because of the tips.  Loki also worked at the school library which, although not paying very well, was basically like getting paid to _study_ , so Loki loved that job.

 

And the library was where he found himself the last few days.  Today, he was cocooned at one of the tables in the back, in a comfy, oversized green and black plaid flannel shirt, dark jeans, and black combat boots.  Hair piled messily on top of his head in a bun, with black-framed glasses perched on his nose as he frowned down at a calculus book, he was sure his coworkers at the bar wouldn’t even recognize him. 

 

Loki chewed thoughtfully on the end of his pen, as he tried to reason his way through limits and derivatives, when the heavy sound of books clattering down on to the table in front of him caused him to jump.  He let out an annoyed sigh.  In the entire library, which was full of unoccupied seats, some tool decided they just _had_ to sit at Loki’s table?  Loki knew he didn’t _own_ the library, but come on!  Didn’t people understand the laws of personal space?

 

Glancing up with what he hoped was his most unfriendly glare, Loki felt the blood drain from his face as he realized exactly _who_ was standing across from him.

 

“Fancy running into you here,” said the last blond in the world Loki wanted to see.

 

_Thor_.

 

_Jesus Christ_ , Loki thought to himself as he looked away and tried to make himself stop gawking.  Thor looked amazing, of course.  In a tight t-shirt that showcased his sculpted pectoral muscles and huge biceps, relaxed blue jeans that hugged his long, long legs, and sunglasses pushed back into his hair like a headband, allowing those gorgeous blond locks to frame his stupid, perfect face.

 

_Get it together, Loki_ , Loki chastised himself.

 

“What are you doing here?” Loki asked, the only intelligent thing he could think to say.

 

“Studying?” Thor said with a shrug as he tried to pull the chair out across from Loki, but found that he couldn’t, as Loki’s feet were currently occupying the space on top of it.  “Why else do people come to the library?” 

 

Loki gave Thor a skeptical look, and watched as Thor rolled his eyes and let out a huff of a laugh.

 

“Yes, Loki, I _do_ study too, you know.  I’m not as much of a stereotype as you think I am,” Thor said.

 

Loki had the sense to look ashamed as he felt his cheeks heat up. He had, in fact, never entertained the idea that Thor actually did anything even remotely…academic.  But from the look of the books on the table—all huge textbooks with pretty complicated sounding titles—it looked like Thor actually took some pretty advanced classes. 

 

“So…you’re not going to let me sit down?” Thor asked as he tugged on the seat again.

 

Loki dug his feet in, locking them around the rungs in the back of the chair and gave Thor a pointed look.

 

“I’m here to study, not for any…funny business,” Loki said, looking him up and down.

 

He really, really wanted to tell Thor to take a hike.  He knew that the blond’s presence would just be a distraction.  But he also found himself strangely…pleased to have seen Thor’s face.  Like he had been missing him or something.  Loki shuddered at the thought.

 

“Oh, come on, I really am here to study.  I swear!” Thor said, laughing and tugging at the chair again.

 

“Yeah, what is all this?  What do you actually ‘study’?” Loki asked as he pointed at one of the thick books on the table.

 

“Oh, you finally want to know something about me?” Thor asked with a chuckle. 

 

Loki frowned at him.

 

“Fine, sorry I asked!” Loki huffed, as he re-opened his book with enough force that the spine made a cracking sound.

 

“Whoa, whoa, calm down,” Thor said, smiling.  “I’m glad you asked.  I was just messing around.” 

 

Loki glared at him.

 

“Let’s play the ‘getting to know you’ game,” Thor said, with a grin.  “I told you I wanted to know you outside of the bar, and maybe it’ll be a way for me to earn a seat at your table?”

 

Loki flushed, _not_ liking that Thor had reminded him of the bar.  As soon as Thor said the word, Loki was brought right back to the feeling of Thor’s mouth on his neck and the feeling of his _parts_ pressed up against Loki.  But it seemed Thor hadn’t had such a vivid reminder, as he continued to talk seemingly unfazed.

 

“So…I know you know I’m a football player,” Thor said, and waited for Loki to nod along.  “I am here on scholarship for that, and they want me to keep playing, so they actually contracted it so that I’d stay here for 5 years.  But I wasn’t going to just let that extra time go to waste, so I signed up for their B.S./M.S. program, which means when I graduate I’ll leave with my Master’s too.  I’m studying Astrophysics.” 

 

Loki couldn’t have helped his incredulous reaction, even if he tried.  That just didn’t…add up. 

 

“Woowww, it’s obvious how much you can’t believe that.  I’m _more_ than just a pretty face you know,” Thor said as he winked.  “I’m I’m sure I know more about celestial bodies, and, you know, _space_ , than you do.”

 

Loki stared at him, somewhat surprised.  Loki considered his intellect one that could be matched by very few, but it was true that when it came to the hard sciences he was usually totally lost.  He was impressed that Thor was getting a degree in such a decidedly difficult field.  It changed Loki’s initial impression of him.  Loki wasn’t the type to actually _admit_ when he was wrong, but at least he knew when to keep his mouth shut if he was. 

 

“Hmm,” was all he said, as he nodded.

 

And Thor grinned at him.

 

“Impressed, huh?” he asked suggestively.

 

“Impressed isn’t the word I’d use for it,” Loki said as he moved his feet off of the seat across from him.  “But it may at least have earned you the right to study with me.”

 

Thor perked up and opened his mouth, but Loki cut him off before he could say anything.

 

“And I _do_ mean study,” Loki said, eyebrow raised and expression serious.  “No funny business.” 

 

Thor grinned as he sat down in the now vacated seat.

 

“Funny business, huh?  Is getting it on in the library your kink?  I wouldn’t have expected that of you, Loki, but I can’t say I don’t like it,” Thor whispered.

 

Loki made a decidedly unattractive snorting sound and looked around the library to make sure no one else had heard him.

 

“I really, _really_ , regret letting you sit here!” Loki hissed.

 

Thor laughed and held his hands up in defense.

 

“I’m kidding,” he said.  “Well, _kinda_ kidding.  But I know at least not to try to get it on with you in the library.  I really am here to study.”

 

Loki rolled his eyes.

 

“And I was definitely pleasantly surprised seeing you here.  I don’t like how we left things last week-” Thor started, but Loki cut him off.

 

“Totally not here to talk about that.  Midterms next week, remember?” Loki muttered as he dropped his head.

 

Thor made a frustrated sound, but didn’t press.  A few minutes ticked by, and Loki could feel the weight of Thor’s eyes on him.  Thor hadn’t even cracked open a single one of the books in front of him and _Loki_ couldn’t concentrate on the words on his page with Thor just _staring_ at him.

 

“What the hell??” Loki hissed.  “Aren’t you gonna, you know, _study_?”

 

“Well, it’s kind of unfair,” Thor said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

 

“What?” Loki asked, an eyebrow arching inquisitively.

 

“Well, you didn’t tell me anything about _you_ ,” Thor explained.

 

Loki’s brows furrowed.

 

“That wasn’t exactly part of the bargain,” Loki said.

 

“I know, but don’t you think it’s kind of not fair?” Thor asked.

 

Loki rolled his eyes.

 

“What do you want to know?” Loki groused.

 

“Something _about_ you,” Thor said with a laugh.  “You’re so secretive it makes it kind of hard to try to get to know you.  I don’t even know what year you’re in.  Or how old you are.” 

 

Loki rolled his eyes again, this time making it extra dramatic. He glanced back down at his book, pointedly ignoring Thor for a moment, before realizing it couldn’t really _hurt_ to tell Thor a little bit about himself.  It wasn’t like he was going to tell the guy where he lived, and they went to a huge school.  Loki would be able to continue to keep his distance, even with sharing a tiny bit of information. 

 

“I’m a junior. Also here on scholarship.  Obviously not an athletic one.  I’m studying Linguistics and Anthropology…and, minoring in Creative Writing,” Loki said, for some reason blushing at admitting that to Thor.  “I’m 19.” 

 

Thor was quiet for a few moments and Loki looked up at him, wondering what the issue was.. 

 

Thor’s head was cocked to the side, like he was thinking hard about something. 

 

“You’re…19, but they let you work at the bar?” Thor asked, eyebrow raised.

 

Loki flinched, cursing himself for being so stupid.  He was definitely working at the bar with a fake ID.  He had been told by a friend that bars were a great place to work to make easy cash, but he wasn’t old enough to do so.  Thus, fake ID and lots of lying, plus having a boss who would rather pay him cash under the table than go through filing with the IRS, had landed Loki a job there. 

 

“If you say a word about that, I swear you’ll regret it,” Loki threatened, genuinely worried that he would lose a big portion of his income if this got out.

 

“Whoa whoa,” Thor said holding his hands up. “I don’t care about that. I mean, what do you think I’m gonna do?  Narc on you?? If I did that and you got fired, where else would I get the chance to see you?”

 

Loki stared at him for a few beats, unsure if he was serious or not.  But Thor was looking at him genuinely, and Loki felt his heartrate slow down.  And once he had calmed, he had realized that Thor had said something incredibly sappy.  And it made him blush.

 

“Ugh,” he said looking away.  “Do you never get tired of that?”

 

“Tired of what,” Thor asked.

 

“The…you know…. All the ‘flirting,’” Loki said, embarrassed to even have to acknowledge it.

 

Thor shrugged.

 

“Not really. How else am I going to get you to realize I like you,” Thor asked.

 

Now _that_ made Loki blush all the way up to his ears.

 

“Ok, that’s the kind of funny business I’m talking about,” he said hurriedly as he propped his textbook up on the table so he could hide his face behind it.  “Cut it out. Let’s study already.”

 

Loki could hear Thor laughing from the other side of his book.

 

“Fine, fine,” Thor said.  “It was enough that I got to see you blush like that.  You look even prettier in the light, Loki.”

 

Loki let out an actual growl and had to fight back the urge to kick Thor’s shin under the table. 

* * *

Loki was pleasantly surprised about how the study session had passed with Thor.  Thor had, most importantly, kept his hands to himself and had kept the flirting down to a minimum.  Loki did find himself glancing at Thor over the top of his book every once in a while and finding it fascinating (and, he would not admit to himself, but, kind of _hot_ ) how studious Thor looked as he worked on his problems. 

 

When they were done, Thor had suggested they go get coffee together and Loki had fumbled his way through some kind of excuse for why he couldn’t.  He still didn’t trust himself alone with Thor.  A coffee shop was way less alone than they’d be if he, say, brought Thor back to his apartment.  (No, no, he would not entertain that thought!)  But it was still way more…“social” than purely platonic studying, and Loki didn’t really believe Thor would lay off the flirting now that the books were away. 

 

He had seen Thor’s disappointment in his rejection, even though Thor had pretended like he didn’t know Loki was just making up a reason not to go out with him.  So Loki had felt particularly shitty for saying no.  And they stood there outside of the library, awkwardly, for a few moments.

 

Then Thor asked if they could maybe do this again— _studying_ together, that is—and Loki had quickly blurted out that, yes, that would be okay.  And had stumbled into Thor asking for his contact info because, how else would they be able to coordinate the study sessions.  And blushing, Loki had agreed to give Thor his number—but _only_ to text, and _only_ to meet up for studying, he had specified.  The grin on Thor’s face had been enough to assuage any of Loki’s misgivings in the moment. 

 

As Loki walked back to his apartment, he was convinced that maybe Thor wasn’t _so_ bad.  Maybe there was more to Thor than the guy he had grown accustomed to seeing every week in the bar.  It was nice knowing another side to him.  It didn’t change the fact that Loki still had pretty…complicated feelings about Thor.  But Loki supposed he could figure that out some other time.  For right now, Loki felt as if some kind of weight had been lifted.  Something had shifted, and Loki kind of liked it. 

* * *

Over the new two months, studying together had become somewhat of a ‘thing’ between Thor and Loki.  Thor didn’t really come to the bar that much anymore, and if he did he stayed at the bar, having a drink or two and joking around with Loki, instead of out on the dance floor pressed body to body with the flavor of the night.  Loki felt less tense when Thor was at the bar.  He didn’t feel the urge to track him with his eyes anymore, and he found himself actually liking when Thor would come by and chat with him during his shift. 

 

And Loki found himself really enjoying the time he spent with Thor outside of the bar.  After about two weeks of study sessions, Loki had hesitantly agreed to go get coffee with Thor, and that had become the unspoken end to each of their meetups, before it escalated to lunch a few times on the weekends.  Thor had taken to texting Loki outside of just asking when they could meet up to study, which Loki had begrudgingly accepted and even had grown to like. 

 

They had begun to spend more time with each other, but Thor still looked at Loki in a way that made Loki’s mouth go dry and his heart pound against his ribcage.  Like Thor _wanted_ him.  And Loki really didn’t know what to _do_ with that realization.  He thought once Thor had gotten to know him—got to see him in all his surly, holier than thou, bratty glory—he would realize Loki wasn’t worth the trouble.  But for some reason, Thor kept on coming around.  Like he didn’t mind that sometimes Loki was super sarcastic with him, and rolled his eyes about 10 times an hour. 

 

And even though it didn’t quite make sense to him, Loki _liked_ that Thor kept hanging out with him.  He had discovered that Thor was funny, and had interesting, well-founded opinions on current topics, and liked a lot of the same shows Loki did (but would passionately debate Loki on the ones he _didn’t_ ).  He was all around a genuinely _nice_ guy. 

 

Loki had even accidentally met a few of Thor’s friends on one occasion when they were having lunch together on a Saturday.  As soon as the three guys and the dark-haired girl walked into the little café he and Thor had been frequenting and exclaimed in surprise at seeing Thor, Loki immediately had a sinking feeling of apprehension in his stomach.  He was deeply aware of how different he and Thor were, how unlikely it would be for Thor to hang out with someone like _him_ , and worried about whether Thor would be embarrassed to introduce him to these people, who all looked like the poster boys and girls for popular college kids.

 

But, instead, Thor ushered them over, grinning widely as he put a hand on Loki’s shoulder, squeezing it warmly, as he introduced him to his friends.  He called Loki his “study buddy,” and went on and on about how smart Loki was, and how his short story had been selected for the school’s literary journal, and how Loki could speak three languages.  Loki sat there and blushed, but was also somewhat blown away by all Thor had actually _remembered._ It was weird seeing himself through someone else’s eyes, but the thought that Thor sounded so proud of him made him all warm and fuzzy inside.  (A feeling Loki pointedly wanted to _ignore_.) 

 

Fandral, the blond with a goatee, had made a suggestive face, complete with waggling eyebrows, as Thor sung Loki’s praises, which had earned him an elbow in the gut from Thor and an exasperated eye roll from Sif, the dark-haired girl, but it was good-natured and Loki hadn’t felt that bothered by it.  He felt like he was being included, as Thor’s friends asked him questions and made sure Thor wasn’t blackmailing him into hanging out with him or anything.  Fandral had even said that Loki could blink SOS to him in Morse code if he needed to (which earned him yet another elbow to the gut), before they all left telling Loki they hoped they saw him again. 

 

Loki found himself thinking of Thor as an important part of his life, something he would never have thought was even remotely _possible_ a few months ago.  And the realization was eye opening. 

 

It was the last thing Loki needed.  Things had been easier when it was clear Thor just found him attractive and wanted to joke around.  It was easy when Loki could roll his eyes, ignore him, and think “this guy’s just an indiscriminate flirt.”  It was easy when _Loki_ didn’t have any feelings about any of it. 

 

But now that he _knew_ Thor, it actually felt worse that he had (as he begrudgingly admitted to himself) developed feelings for Thor.  Because it didn’t change the fact that Thor was the type of guy Loki could never date.  Thor was a nice guy, but that didn’t mean Loki had any business having a _crush_ on him.  He still knew what kind of guy Thor was when it came to hook ups.  Because that’s all they were.  Thor didn’t seem to _date_ people.  Loki had never seen Thor with the same person twice when he had come to the bar.  And Loki wasn’t naïve enough to think that the bar where he worked was the only place Thor went to pick up dates.  He went through people like hot cakes, and it was likely he did just as well elsewhere.

 

The thought made Loki grimace.

 

Loki hadn’t even thought he could _like_ guys a few months ago.  Now the one that he _did_ like was the last one he wanted to.  

* * *

It was two weeks before finals when everything came to a head.

 

Loki was about an hour away from finishing his shift at the bar and was feeling on edge, as he always did, when exams were approaching.  He could feel the stress coming on, floating right outside his consciousness.  And as the days progressed it would get heavier and heavier, until he was, in his words, a “highly functioning hot mess.”  Many of his friends never understood why Loki got _so_ stressed out about finals, but many of them had their parents to help out with school.  Loki, on the other hand, needed to maintain good grades to _stay_ in school. So, no, they couldn’t understand.

 

Thor had been pretty good about it, though.  Loki hadn’t gone into much detail about his home life, only to vaguely mention he had a single mom who would never be able to afford tuition for college on what she made, let alone at a private school out of state, and how Loki had had to bust his ass to get into the best school he could, on top of getting a full tuition scholarship. And how he missed being home, and didn’t exactly always feel like he fit in, but that even when sometimes it felt like too much, he knew he had to keep going because he wanted to bring that degree home to his mom.  He’d be the first person in his family to have graduated from college.  Loki hadn’t known what had possessed him to tell Thor that, one night in the almost empty café as they sipped hot chocolates, but Thor had said he found Loki really brave.  And even though Loki had scoffed, rolled his eyes, and changed the subject, he couldn’t deny that Thor’s words had warmed his heart, as Thor’s words often did.

 

Thor was respectful of how serious Loki took studying, but often tried to find ways to help Loki relax or take his mind off of it.  Like being a (harmless) nuisance when Loki was working, to help him get through his shift faster.

 

“Do you remember that show ‘Catdog?’” Thor asked as he played with a paper football he had made during the night.

 

Loki’s brows furrowed.

 

“Uh, yeah?  What about it?” Loki asked, wiping down the bar methodically.  His eyes scanned the rest of the room.  It wasn’t as packed as it usually was on a weekend.  He wondered if he could maybe take off early.

 

“Well, I was just thinking about it.  How did ‘catdog’ go to the bathroom?” Thor asked, grinning at Loki.  “Do you think the producers just, like, forgot that really important detail?”

 

Loki chuckled and shook his head.

 

“I don’t _want_ to think about that,” Loki laughed.  “Besides, it was a kid’s cartoon.  I don’t think explaining that was exactly vital to us enjoying it.”

 

“No, but now that we’re older, doesn’t stuff like that blow your mind?  Don’t you feel bad for Catdog?  Or, at least whichever end it was coming out,” Thor said, grimacing.

 

Loki laughed out loud.

 

“Oh my god.  You are such a weirdo,” Loki said.

 

“Loki!” Lorelei, one of the other bartenders called, drawing Loki’s attention away from Thor.

 

Loki looked toward her at the other end of the bar, and saw that she was standing there holding a plunger with a sympathetic look on her face.  Loki cringed as he walked toward her.

 

“Customer said there’s a clog in the men’s toilet.  Sorry about this, kid,” she said handing him the tool.

 

“Fuck my life,” Loki mumbled, taking it from her.    

 

He could see Thor looking at him curiously from where he had left him further down the bar.  Loki held up the plunger and then mimicked hanging himself.  Thor grimaced and gave him a thumb’s up sign.

 

“Asshole,” Loki muttered but couldn’t help smiling, as he turned and headed toward the bathroom.

* * *

Loki had been in the bathroom for about 10 minutes when he heard the door open behind him. 

 

“Toilet’s busted,” he called out over his shoulder as he continued to fiddle with the handle.  He couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t flushing.  “Ask one of the bartenders to let you in to the women’s room instead.”

 

“Saw you come in here and I thought it’d be nice for us to finally get some privacy,” he heard a voice say from behind him.  Way too close for comfort.

 

Loki whipped around only to practically bump into a man who was crowding him in the stall.

 

“What the fuck?” Loki said, trying to put some distance between them but only running into the wall behind him.

 

The guy looked vaguely familiar.  A customer he had served before, he was sure, but not someone who was a regular.  Loki remembered him because he was older than the clientele they usually got and the man had told him once that he worked in the area, so would come in for drinks after work.  Loki never really bought that excuse, since he was often there later into the evening than after-work hours.  Loki always thought he was some sleaze bag cruising for college tail.  But he was a good tipper, so Loki had always kept that opinion to himself.  But now Loki was being caged in by said sleaze bag, and he did not like that.

 

“Excuse me, sir,” he said, trying to keep the tremble out of his voice. “But, like I said, the bathroom’s out of commission, so you’re going to have to use another one and let me do my job.”

 

“You think I’m in here because I got to take a piss?” the man asked, brows lowering in annoyance.

 

Loki could hear a slight slur to his voice, which helped to explain what was going on, but did nothing to make Loki feel any better.  Drunk men were reckless men, and Loki did not need this guy acting with the benefits of liquid courage.

 

“Well since you’re not here to use the bathroom, that’s even better reason for you to leave,” Loki said as he tried to push past him.

 

That earned him a hard push backwards from the man.  Loki yelped as his head smacked into the tile behind him.

 

“What is it with you?  You used to be so much flirtier a few months back.  You had no problem batting those eyelashes at me, stroking my hand, as you took my money from me.  Now, you’ve served me the last three nights and don’t even _look_ at me.  You do look at that knuckle-headed blond lummox you spend the entire night talking to.  That what you’re into, huh?” the man snarled.

 

Loki’s eyes widened.  This was going from 0 to 60 way too fast for him.

 

Loki raised his hand to try to put some more distance between them as he tried to reason with the man.

 

“Listen, sir, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you’re going to have to leav-ah!” Loki’s words were abruptly cut off as the man grabbed his hand and twisted Loki around so that he was pressed chest first up against the wall and the man was pressing down on his back.  

 

Loki was so startled he couldn’t even speak.

 

“What do I have to do to be worth your time?  Huh?  The money’s not enough?  All that matters to you is muscles and good looks?  So you’re really that vain?” the man asked, applying more pressure to Loki’s arm.

 

Loki let out a pained gasp.

 

“What’s the point of trying to woo you if you’re just going to give it up to the first dumb jock who winks at you?  You think I haven’t seen that guy sniffing around you for as long as I have?  You think I don’t _know_ what you do with him?” the man snarled.  “Dumb fucking slut.”  

 

When Loki felt the man’s hand start to paw clumsily at the buckle of his belt, it finally dawned on him what the guy thought was going to happen, and Loki was having none of it. 

 

“Jesus fucking Christ, get a grip you asshole!” Loki snarled, as he began to twist his arm, trying to dislodge the man.  If he could just shift his leg a little to the left, he could give the guy’s foot a good stomp, and then after that, it would be no holds barred.  There was no way Loki was going down without a fight.  Loki felt his heartrate spike and adrenaline pump through his veins. 

 

Just as he was rearing up to try to head-butt the man behind him, the door swung open, and both Loki and his assailant turning around to see who had entered.  When Loki realized who it was, he had never been more relieved in his life. 

 

“Loki?  Is everything alright?  Need a hand or something?” Thor trailed off as his eyes took in the scene playing out in front of him.  

 

The quick shift in Thor’s expression from genial and helpful to molten rage was enough to steal the breath from Loki’s lungs.  Thor was almost roaring as he grabbed the man from behind and pulled him away from Loki.  He slammed the man up against the bathroom stall so hard, Loki heard his teeth clack together.

 

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing!?” Thor shouted, and without even waiting for an answer he punched the guy in the stomach, hard.

 

The man choked, groaning out in pain, and would have slumped to the floor if Thor hadn’t been holding him up by the collar of his shirt.

 

“Mother fucker!” Thor growled, as he then threw a right hook, this time getting the guy square in the cheek. 

Loki watched as blood and spittle flew from his mouth, and found himself cringing.

 

“Thor!  Okay!  That’s enough, let him go!” Loki shouted as he moved into action, grabbing Thor by the shoulders.

 

“What?? This guy was-!” Thor said, cutting himself off before he could even say the words.

 

“And what, you’re going to stand here and kill him?” Loki asked, as he tried to reason with Thor, his voice sounding shrill even to his own ears. 

 

Loki felt like his heart was pounding a mile a minute in his chest, and he didn’t want to stand here and have to look at this degenerate anymore.  He just wanted to get out of there.  Out of the small, suffocating space.  And away from all of this. 

 

Thor frowned as he looked between Loki and the swaying man, and back to Loki again.  There must have been something he saw in Loki’s face because he sighed and released the man’s collar. 

 

The man stumbled when Thor let him go and looked at Thor through the eye that wasn’t rapidly swelling shut.

 

“You better never step foot in this place again,” Thor growled as he pointed his finger menacingly in the man’s face.  “I better not even see you around town.  ‘Cuz if I do, he won’t be here to stop me, and you don’t want to see what I’ll do to you when he’s not around.”

 

The man nodded dumbly and then slid around Thor’s imposing form, before scrambling out the door.

 

“Fuck,” Thor said, kicking the metal wall of the bathroom stall once the guy was gone.

 

Loki let out a startled sound and Thor looked up at him, all of the previous anger draining from his face.

 

“Shit, Loki, are you okay?” Thor asked as he grabbed Loki’s hands and started turning him this way and that, as if looking for injuries.

 

“I’m fine,” Loki said, pulling his hands away from Thor’s and stepping back.   

 

He didn’t really feel fine.  He still felt like the walls were too close. 

 

“Are you sure?  He really didn’t do anything?” Thor asked, the worry clear in his voice.  “Did I come in time?”

 

Loki glared at him, suddenly feeling something nasty clawing in his chest.  Did Thor think he was some type of damsel in distress? 

 

“I don’t _need_ saving, you know?  I could have handled that by myself!” Loki snapped.  “I can take _care_ of myself. Who the fuck asked you to come around and start meddling in my fucking life?”

 

Thor stepped back, clearly surprised by Loki’s outburst, and Loki suddenly felt like he wanted to _cry_.  He had no idea why he said that to Thor.  Thor had just been trying to help.  It wasn’t like _Thor_ had been the creep who had decided he had the right to press Loki up against a wall and feel him up.  But Loki just felt so pent up, like his emotions had ricocheted back and forth, and now they were all rushing out of him. 

 

He was tired. 

 

Yes, he could take care of himself.  Yes, he didn’t need anybody.  But was it so bad to _want_ someone anyway?

 

“Shit,” Loki said as he turned away, feeling the tears start to bubble up, and once they started he couldn’t stop them.  “I’m sorry, Thor.  I’m sorry.  I don’t know why I’m so-  I always fuck this shit up.  Just, ugh, just ignore me.  You can go.  Just give me a couple of minutes in here and I’ll be okay.”

 

Loki took in a shaky breath, and then the _sobs_ came.  He put his face in his hands as his shoulders shook, hoping Thor would just _ignore_ it.  Be a good, emotionally-awkward _bro_ , and just pretend that Loki wasn’t being all kinds of vulnerable right now.  But, instead, Thor came up behind him and tentatively put his hands on Loki’s shoulders. 

 

He tugged gently, signaling for Loki to turn around, and for a moment Loki resisted.  He didn’t want Thor to see him like this, a sniveling mess.  But the idea that he could be wrapped up in those big arms was too much of a draw and he gave in, allowing Thor to turn him, and smooshing his face into Thor’s chest as he cried.

 

“I’m being so stupid,” Loki said, voice muffled against the fabric of Thor’s t-shirt.  “I don’t know why I’m crying.  I-I’m not—it’s not like I’m scared.  He didn’t hurt me.  I’m being _ridiculous_.” 

 

“Shh, shh, it’s okay.  It’s the adrenaline.  It’s perfectly normal,” Thor said, stroking his hair. “You aren’t fucking anything up.  You aren’t being stupid.” 

 

Loki shook his head, not quite sure he believed that, but it still felt good to hear it in any case. 

 

They stood there for a few minutes, with Thor rubbing light circles on Loki’s back as Loki tried to calm down.  Every time Loki thought he had a grip, a little shuddering breath would come out and he would feel like starting all over again. 

 

“Hey,” Thor said as he patted Loki’s shoulder. “I don’t think it’s a good idea if you go back to work right now, okay?  How about we just get you out of here? Alright?”

 

Loki nodded. That sounded like a _great_ idea.  He was drained, and there was no way he was going back to work when his eyes were probably pathetically red and swollen. 

 

Thor turned Loki around again so they could make their way out of the bathroom, but he didn’t pull away, as Loki had feared he would.  Instead, he kept Loki tightly tucked into his side, one big arm slung around his shoulders.

 

As they made their way through the bar, Loki heard Lorelei call out to him from somewhere to his right.

 

“Loki’s not feeling well, so I’m going to help him get home,” Thor explained.

 

Lorelei, always one to be suspicious reached out to touch Loki’s wrist.

 

“Loki?” she asked.

 

Loki tried to hide his face, embarrassed about what he must look like.

 

“I’m fine,” he said, sniffling against his will.  “Just need to go home.”

 

Lorelei gave him a concerned look but patted him on the shoulder and told him she would cover his shift.  Loki gave her a watery smile in return.

 

When they made it outside, Thor was lucky enough to flag a cab down almost immediately.  After he loaded Loki into the car and the driver asked for the address, Thor looked to Loki expectantly, but all Loki did was mumble out “your place” before pressing his forehead to the cool glass and closing his eyes.

 

He could tell Thor was looking at him curiously as he rattled off his own address to the driver and the car pulled away from the curb.  Loki didn’t quite know why he had asked to go to Thor’s apartment instead of his own.  He just knew that was where he wanted to be right now.

* * *

The ride over to Thor’s took about 15 minutes, and by the time Loki made it up to Thor’s third-floor walk-up he was feeling leaps and bounds better.  He figured Thor must’ve been right. It was the adrenaline, probably mixed with all the other tension Loki had been carrying lately.  The run in with the creep in the bathroom had been decidedly unpleasant, but nothing Loki was going to dwell on.  Instead of feeling any of what he had felt in the bathroom, now he felt a bundle of nerves in his stomach.

 

Because here he was.  Standing in Thor’s living room.  For the first time ever.  And he was here because he wanted to be.

 

“So, you said you wanted a drink,” Thor said as he came back in from the kitchen.  “I don’t really have anything fancy, sorry.”

 

Thor handed him something amber-colored in a glass tumbler and Loki gulped it down.

 

“Whoa!” Thor said giving him an incredulous look.  “Pace yourself there.” 

 

“What was that?” Loki asked as he licked his lips.

 

“Southern Comfort?” Thor said as he shrugged.  “It was either that or Absolut.  Like I said, I’ve got nothing fancy.”

 

Loki shrugged and placed the glass down.

 

“Are you feeling a little better?” Thor asked quietly.

 

“Yeah…Uh… Thanks.  For before,” Loki said as he rubbed his arm awkwardly and looked around the room.

 

Thor laughed.

 

“We don’t have to be weird about this, you know,” Thor said.  “I’d never hesitate to help you out, Loki.” 

 

“I’m not… It’s not _weird_ ,” Loki said with a huff.  “Well, not because of that.”

 

Thor’s brows furrowed.

 

“Okay, so then why’s it weird,” he asked.

 

“I’m… Well, I’m in your apartment.  For the first time.  It’s kinda…I dunno,” Loki trailed off.

 

“Uh… I mean, if you’re uncomfortable, I can take you home?” Thor offered, sounding confused.

 

Loki let out a dramatic sigh.

 

“Can you...get me more of this?” he asked instead as he pointed to his empty glass.

 

Thor gave him a scrupulous look but then grabbed the glass and made his way back to the kitchen.  When he returned a few minutes later, he was carrying the glass in one hand and the bottle of SoCo in the other.

 

“Please don’t get shit-faced drunk, okay,” Thor said as he handed them over. “I don’t want you to get all mad at me like you did last time.”

 

Loki knew Thor was trying to make a joke, but Thor’s reference to the last time Loki had gotten drunk caused Loki to blush.  _That_ was exactly what Loki had been trying to say when he said it was _weird_.  Loki was alone in the apartment of the boy he had been harboring a pretty serious crush on.  A boy who had just heroically saved him from a sketchy assailant like some knight in shining armor, as cliché as it might be.  And now Loki’s already confusing feelings were compounded with _extra_ feelings.  Feelings that made him want to ask to go home with Thor, instead of returning to his own damn apartment like a reasonable Loki would do.  He didn’t want to be apart from Thor right now. Couldn’t Thor tell that _that_ was why Loki was feeling a bit weird??

 

Instead of saying anything, Loki took another drink. This time a bit slower than the first, but he knew he was using it to steel his courage.  Loki was feeling reckless and instead of thinking up the 10,000 reasons for why this was a very stupid idea, Loki decided to _roll_ with it. 

 

“Well, I’m in your apartment,” Loki began.

 

“Yes… yes, you are,” Thor said, laughing, but it was clear to Loki he was having trouble following Loki’s train of thought.

 

Loki huffed.

 

“Isn’t that what you’ve been angling for all this time?  You know?  To get me to go home with you,” he blurted out, feeling his cheeks heat up as the words left his lips.

 

Thor blinked in surprise, and Loki watched, to his own pleasure, as Thor’s cheeks looked like they had gotten a little red as well.

 

“Uh… I mean… That’s not exactly…. Well, I don’t think I’ve been _angling_ for that, Loki.  But, I mean, yeah… I’ve always been attracted to you,” Thor said, rubbing the back of his head and having the audacity to actually look _bashful_ right now.

 

Loki couldn’t believe it.  This was the same guy who unabashedly flirted with anything with a pulse and had practically perfected the art of giving bedroom eyes (not that Loki had noticed, mind you).  Thor did not get the right to act shy. Loki was here, just where Thor had always wanted him, so why wasn’t Thor _doing_ anything??

 

Frustrated, Loki decided that if Thor wasn’t going to bite the bullet, then Loki was going to. 

 

“Let’s do it then,” Loki said, trying to be as nonchalant as possible, as he flopped down on the couch and took a swig straight from the bottle of SoCo.

 

“Do what?” Thor asked, as he came closer and pried the bottle from Loki’s fingers, giving him a disapproving look.

 

“Fuck,” Loki said pointedly, holding Thor’s gaze. 

 

The sound Thor made was a mix between a choke and a screech.

 

“ _What_?” Thor asked, sounding both amused and confused. 

 

“Well…I don’t…find you as _annoying_ as I used to.  And…I guess, in fact, you’ve maybe kinda grown on me, so…” Loki muttered.

 

“Wait.  Are you trying saying you _like_ me?” Thor asked carefully, as if unsure about his hypothesis.

 

Loki glared up at him.

 

“What do you think, you idiot?” Loki snapped, cheeks burning in embarrassment.

 

Thor chuckled as he slid down on to the seat next to Loki.  Loki frowned at him, thinking Thor was going to make fun of him, but instead Thor just looked kind of...relieved.

 

“Wow,” Thor said as he ran a hand over his face.  “I mean…saying I’m not “as annoying” as I used to be doesn’t actually equate with “I like you” in normal-people-speak, Loki.  But, from you, I’ll take it.” 

 

Loki opened his mouth to retort with something snarky but then Thor turned and grinned at him and Loki felt the words die on his lips.

 

Loki watched on, speechless, as Thor leaned in slowly, hand reaching out to cup Loki’s face.  When he felt the rough pads of Thor’s fingers touch his cheek, Loki squeezed his eyes shut, feeling his body flood with nerves.  This was nowhere near as intimate as when he and Thor had danced together at the bar, or even when Thor had pushed him up against the wall and literally stole his breath away with a kiss out in the alleyway, but yet Loki still found himself with a stomach full of butterflies.  Because it wasn’t dark.  And Thor wasn’t drunk.  And this was _real_.

 

But Thor didn’t kiss him.  Instead he stroked Loki’s cheek and Loki’s eyes fluttered open. 

 

“So, first of all,” Thor said, while smiling, “we’re not gonna fuck.”

 

Loki’s brows furrowed in confusion.

  

“Loki.  We don’t have to do anything just because you’re here.  I don’t want you to feel pressured, or think there’s some kind of formula and you have no say.  I really like you, but I can wait… Or, you know, it’s okay if we never do it at all, too.  I’m just happy you came home with me, and that you’d even think about it,” Thor said.

 

“N-no. I want to do it.  It’s all I’ve been able to think about for _weeks_ ,” Loki admitted with a blush, as he began looking around the room; at everything _but_ Thor.  

 

Loki felt Thor turn his face toward him, so Loki would have no choice but to look at him.  He could see desire in Thor’s eyes, but it wasn’t the type that made Loki feel like Thor was two seconds away from jumping his bones.  Instead, Thor seemed calm and in control, radiating a sense of confidence that made Loki’s heartrate pickup. 

 

“I can’t even begin to put into words how happy I am to hear that,” Thor said, giving Loki a flirtatious smile.  “But… still, we’re not gonna fuck.”

 

Loki made a sound of protest, but Thor placed a finger over his lips and gave him a look.

 

“Loki, I’ve kinda got a hypothesis here, but feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.  Have you ever been with a guy before?” Thor asked.  

 

Loki glared at him, feeling for some reason incensed by the _caring_ look Thor was giving him.  What was going _on_?  Why was Thor all “no sex” and “responsible” all of a sudden?  Why was he making this more complicated than it had to be?  Loki was finally acquiescing.  Finally agreeing to all the flirtations and promises of a mind-blowing romp in the sheets, because Loki finally realized he wanted to know what it was like.  He wanted that intimacy with Thor.  The more Thor talked about it, the more Loki started to feel it would be hard to maintain his carefree attitude.  All of Loki’s courage would fizzle away. 

 

“What does it matter?  Sex is sex.  There’s a first time for everything, yadda yadda.  Why are you acting like you don’t want to?  It’s what you always said you wanted,” Loki said, ire slipping into his voice.  “Why would you suddenly act like it’s a big deal to hook up?”

 

Thor blinked at him, clearly confused.

 

“Hook up?  I’m not… Loki, I wouldn’t… It’s not like this would just be like a one night stand or something,” Thor said.

 

Loki looked away.

 

“Why not?  Isn’t that the way this thing goes?” Loki said spitefully.

 

“Hey,” Thor said, voice serious, as he turned Loki’s face back toward him.  “What are you talking about?  You sound like you think all I want to do is use you.  I’m serious about you, Loki. I’ve been coming to your bar for almost half a year.  I mean… I think people were starting to think I’m an alcoholic, or something.  I don’t even _like_ drinking that much. I just went there for _you_ ,” Thor said. 

 

“Yeah, right,” Loki said as he rolled his eyes, a hard edge to his voice.  “You came there for me?  You went home with somebody almost every other time you _left_ there.  What, was that an added perk?” 

 

Thor’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at the accusation.

 

“What?  _No_!  I mean, okay, maybe I was a little casual at first, when I first started going there.  I would hit on you, you would shut me down and tell me you were clearly not interested, and yeah, alright, I went home with other people sometimes.  But, Loki…have you really not noticed?   I haven’t gone home with _anyone_ from the bar since that night I kissed you outside,” Thor said, sincerity written all over his face.   

 

Loki’s brows furrowed as he mulled over what Thor had said.  That was… more than two months ago.  Was that really true?  The last two months had truthfully flown by in somewhat of a blur.  And in actuality, Loki had seen Thor _outside_ of the bar far much more in those last two months than he ever saw him in the bar.  Now, when Thor came to the bar… he spent the entire time talking to Loki.  He came there to _visit_ Loki.  Not to party or to pick people up.    

 

Loki blinked in realization as he turned to face Thor.

 

“I’ve really been trying to get to know you, Loki.  I never thought it’d go anywhere but friendship once you agreed to start hanging out with me, but even then I was just really happy to have that.  You’re funny and smart as a whip.  And you’re not afraid to hand my ass to me when I say something stupid.  On top of all that, you’re a bombshell,” Thor said with a grin.

 

Loki blushed up to his ears.

 

“So, that’s why I’m saying, for right now, I want to kiss you, okay?  And, I want to _date_ you.  I don’t want you to be someone I sleep with once and never see again.  I never wanted it to be like that with you.  I’m sorry if I made it so you couldn’t take me seriously.  You’re… intimidating, to say the least.  And I guess even I have some insecurities and was afraid of you seriously rejecting me, so… I was cheesy and gimmicky about it.  And I shouldn’t have done that,” Thor said, looking down at his lap.

 

“But, then I started to realize how frustrated it made me seeing you flirting with other guys.  Even though I knew you weren’t serious—I knew you were doing it for tips—but you never flirted with _me_ like that,” Thor admitted, cheeks getting red.  “And so… I decided I needed to be more serious.  I fucked up a lot.  I realized I said and did stupid stuff when I was drunk. And I wanted you to see me for more than that.” 

 

Loki was so surprised hearing all that from Thor.  Thor who seemed like nothing fazed him.  Thor, who was confident and tall and strong.  Thor, who seemed like nothing could dim his light, not even the sun.  That Thor was sitting here and telling him that _Loki_ intimidated him.  That he did and said all that stupid stuff because he was afraid Loki really wouldn’t like him.  The thought of it lifted something heavy off of Loki’s shoulder.  It appeared that he and Thor weren’t that different after all.

 

“Okay, then do it,” Loki said as he scooted a little closer to Thor.

 

Thor stared at him, confused.

 

“Do what?” he asked. 

 

“Kiss me,” Loki breathed as he leaned in.

 

The heated look returned to Thor’s eyes, and he needed no more prodding as he slid his hand from its place on Loki’s cheek to cup the back of his head and pulled Loki in close.   When Thor’s lips crashed against his, Loki couldn’t help the gasp that escaped his mouth.  This kiss was more electric than the one they had shared in the alley.  Loki’s heart pounded in his ears, his skin tingled.  He let out a soft moan as Thor’s tongue slipped into his mouth.  Loki could see himself getting hooked on this.  If kissing Thor felt this good, Loki couldn’t wait to do more.         

 

Just as he was thinking that, Thor pulled away and Loki found himself trying to follow after those mesmerizing lips. But Thor wouldn’t let him. 

 

“You know, I still haven’t gotten my answer yet, right?” Thor said as he tucked Loki’s hair behind his ear.

 

Loki frowned, confused by Thor’s words.

 

“Answer to what?” he asked, embarrassed by how breathless he sounded already.

 

“To dating me.  You know, being my _boyfriend_ ,” Thor said, with an impish grin.

 

Loki rolled his eyes but couldn’t help the smile tugging at his own lips.

 

“I _guess_ I can,” Loki said, feigning exasperation. “I mean, it’s against my better judgment, but I’ve been known to do crazier things.” 

 

“Can’t you ever just be honest?” Thor asked, with a laugh.

 

“No.  But I’m guessing you knew that, before you decided to date me,” Loki said, as he grabbed the collar of Thor’s shirt and pulled him closer. “So just shut up and kiss me.”

 

“Gladly,” Thor said, before diving in.  

* * *

A/N:  Ok!  There we have it.  Please let me know your thoughts!  See you next time~ xoxo

Find me on [tumblr](https://laydee-liesmith.tumblr.com/)


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